Chapter 8 Chapter 8: The Bridge of the Past

The search for Johnny Howard's murder has stalled.The keyword "Qismi" provided by the New York Police has never figured out what it means. After the case happened, the 20-day "preliminary search" passed quickly. During this period, all the rest days were taken in, and the legs were broken, but nothing was found.All assumptions have been ruled out, and the case appears confusing. "Damn it, the Yankees, their country got killed and they got some 'kismee' to trick us." The criminal policeman Hengdu yelled and cursed, his monkey-like face flushed even more.Perhaps in his opinion, a foreign devil who traveled thousands of miles to Japan to seek death was purely looking for trouble.

"There are places in the world where you can die, but you have to go to such a narrow country to die. There are so many cases every day, we are already busy running around, how can we have time to meddle in the affairs of these foreigners." The Hexi criminal police retorted slowly: "However, the foreigner doesn't want to be killed." He is a criminal policeman from the first search section, but he is more like a bank employee. In the casually dressed office, he even wears a suit in summer. , even buttoned at the hem.This extravagance made him look like a bumpkin. "I just can't stand it. I get annoyed when I see foreigners, especially those guys from the United States and Europe. The standard of living in Japan has surpassed them, but they still have to act like a developed country. Those even Foreign country bumpkins who don’t know about New York and Paris in their own country suddenly come to Tokyo and are dazzled, but they still try their best to bluff and pretend to be a developed country.”

"Crossover!" "When the Japanese were killed in New York, they didn't conduct such a serious search. When the Japanese see a foreigner, they look like slaves, so they are looked down upon." The search came to a stalemate, causing people to become infuriated, and everyone in Nasuban looked at each other and smiled wryly. No matter how much Hengdu cursed, the search still made no progress.The vigor of the initial search had been overwhelmed by fatigue, and the air in the search headquarters seemed extremely dull. At this time, a man named Nonoyama Takayoshi came to search the headquarters. He was a driver of the "Gongrong Transportation" rental company, and the company's headquarters was located in Nakano District.

The Dongju detective happened to be there at the time, and he received Nonoyama Takakichi. "I should have reported the case earlier, but unfortunately I happened to go back to my hometown, and I couldn't read the newspaper." Noyeshan is a man in his 50s, who looks honest and honest, but has been very panicked from the very beginning. "Report? What case?" Dongju asked, and at the same time he had a premonition in his heart.The search headquarters also collected some miscellaneous facts, but most of them came from hearsay. Noye-san's visit made Dongju feel like a big fish biting a bait.

"It's like this. On September 13th, I sent a guest from Haneda Airport to the Tokyo Business Hotel. He was very similar to the black man who was killed in the Royal Hotel." Nonoyama's words made Toju's muscles tense up. "You're not mistaken, are you?" "I think it's probably true. Although the faces of black people look similar, the skin color of that person is not so dark. It feels a bit like an Oriental." "Why didn't you report it sooner?" "Because I went back to my hometown. I haven't been back for a long time, and I saved a few days off, so I finally asked for leave from the company."

"Why are you here to report now?" "I accidentally flipped through the bound copy of an old newspaper in the company's cafeteria, and saw that the photo in the newspaper was very similar to the guest I sent." "You came too timely, we also looked for you!" "Really, that's really embarrassing." "No, thank you very much. However, I still want to ask, did you take him to the hotel in Shinjuku, or did he ask to go to that hotel?" "It was ordered by the guest." "So he already knew about the restaurant?" "Maybe. But he seems to only know the name of the restaurant, and it seems like he's going there for the first time."

"Didn't he say how he knew the name of that restaurant?" "No, he doesn't like to talk, he hardly ever opens his mouth." "Did he say in English that he was going to the Tokyo Business Hotel?" "No, he spoke in stuttering Japanese. He seemed to know a little bit of Japanese, and when he got off the bus, he said 'thank you, don't have to change' in Japanese." "Did you say anything else?" "No, except when he gets in and out of the car, he doesn't say a word all the time, which makes people feel that he is rather melancholy."

"Did you notice anything else?" "There's nothing else." This seems to be all that Nonoyama knows.In any case, from the information he provided, it finally became clear that Johnny Howard was going to the Tokyo Business Hotel in the first place.But in the previous search, no one in this hotel was found to have any connection with Johnny. Where did Johnny know about this business hotel?Would it be naive to assume that he had learned the name of this restaurant by accident somewhere and worshiped it like a god, and despite his first visit to this strange country, he still went straight to the "only hotel" he knew?

No conclusions can be drawn yet.After Dongju thanked him, he was about to send him away when Noyeshan timidly handed something in front of Dongju, which seemed to be a book. "What is this?" Dongju looked at him while looking at the book. "This is what fell on the car." "You mean Johnny Howard dropped it?" "No, I don't know if it belonged to that guest. The book slipped between the seat and the backrest, and a third or fourth passenger after him found it." The book was worn out, the cover was frayed, and the title was illegible with age and gray.Although it is a hardcover book, the binding is rough and the threads are ripped apart.Because it is badly damaged, it will fall apart if you don't pay attention to it in your hand.

Since the book was found by a third or fourth passenger after Johnny Howard got out of the car, it is difficult to tell if it was his, or perhaps someone before the finder. of.The book had slipped between the seat and the back, so it was also possible that one of the many passengers before Johnny got into the car had left it. At this time, Dongju thought of the old straw hat found in Qingshuigu Park from the oldness of the book.The straw hat, like this book, is also very worn out, the hat ring is torn in pieces, and there is a hole in the top of the hat. The straw is faded, like old fibers, and it feels very uncomfortable to hold. , It seems that it will turn into a pile of ashes immediately.

The Straw Hat is just as old as this book, and Dongju noticed this "similar oldness". "Do you check the gap between the seat and the backrest every day?" "I have to check every day after I finish pulling customers. Because lost things and small things that fall out of customers' pockets will basically slip there." "Did you find nothing during the previous day's inspection?" "We take the morning shift and the evening shift every other day. If a passenger leaves something behind, the driver of the previous shift will hand it over to me. To be careful, I will check it before leaving the bus, but what happened that day? Didn't find it either." That way, it was certain that the book had been dropped in Johnny's cab the day he was in Wild Hills. "The things that have been lost for so long, why are they still in your hands?" "Ah, I'm really embarrassed to say that. Except for valuables, lost items are sent to the local police station once a week. But we deal with less valuable things like food, because those The East and West police don't bother." If the provisions of the Lost and Found Law are strictly followed and all lost and found items are handed in, the police will find it difficult.According to the Lost and Found Act, the owner of a car, boat, building, etc. can take care of the lost property instead of the police station, but food and other worthless things can be dealt with by the person in charge as appropriate. "What about this book?" "I flipped through it and found it very interesting, but I forgot it when I brought it home. It was definitely not...intentional." Noye-san seemed afraid of being prosecuted for embezzling him, Dongju smiled wryly. "It seems to be a collection of poems." Dongju turned a page as if playing with a baby. "It's Saijo Yasuo's collection of poems." "Saijo Yashi? Is that the lyricist?" In Dong Ju's impression, he is a lyricist of popular songs. "Saijo Yasuo is famous as a lyrics writer, and he is also an excellent poet. His poetic style full of romantic fantasy is unmatched. As early as Waseda's student days, he founded a fanzine with Nitsuka Konosuke and others. After studying in France, he published many excellent nursery rhymes and poems with Yates and Maldelheck, and he is as famous as Kitahara Hakushu. I like his delicate and sweet sentimentality very much." Noye Shan did not expect to show off his literary attainments in this place.He was an admirer of Saijo Yasuo, so he took the collection of poems home.Just because he is an admirer, that collection of poems is very valuable to him, so he is afraid of being prosecuted for "possessing detached things for private use". If Johnny Howard lost this book, why did he have a collection of Japanese poets?Dongju thinks this is a new mystery. This collection of poems was published not long after the war, so it is more than 20 years old, so it is naturally rather old.The owner's name was not written on the book. In any case, the possibility that the Saijo Eighty Poems was lost by Johnny is a piece of evidence that cannot be ignored. Dongju accepted the collection of poems. Dongju didn't have much interest in novels and poetry anthologies, it could be said that he had no interest at all.He thinks that these are just imaginary worlds built by imaginative people playing with words.He fights wits and courage with ferocious criminals in the real society, and has no time to pay attention to those fictional things. Dongju accidentally got this "Saijo Eighty Poems Collection" from Nonoyama, and wanted to investigate this poet.In the library of the Metropolitan Police Department, there is an encyclopedia classified by subject. He pulled out the literature section and found the entry "Saijo Eighty", which said: ——Saijo Eighty (1892-1970) poet.Born in Ushigome, Tokyo.After passing through Waseda Middle School and Zhengze English School, he entered the English Department of Waseda University and the Chinese Department of the University of Tokyo to study.Influenced by the literature of his English teacher Yoshie Kyosong in Waseda Middle School, he has been engaged in literary creation all his life. In 1919 (the eighth year of Taisho), he published his debut collection of poems "Gold Dust", which was well received for its fantasy, refined words and sweet sentimentality. In 1921, he served as a lecturer at Waseda University, and published a collection of translated poems "White Peacock" (1920) and poetry collections "Lovers Who Have Never Known Before" and "Wax Puppet" (1922). In 1923, he studied at the University of Paris and devoted himself to the study of French poetry after the 16th century.In France, he became a member of Maralme and traveled with Valera.After returning to China, he served as a professor at Waseda University and became the standard-bearer of the abstract poetry school.While publishing "Saijo Eighty Poems" (1927), "The Lost of Beauty" (1929), "Golden House" (1944), etc., he also presided over "The King of Poetry", "White Peacock" The editor of publications such as Wax Puppet and Poetry Rhyme has trained many poets.He played a central role in the children's song poetry movement of Red Bird and is the author of The Complete Collection of Saijo Eighty Nursery Rhymes (1924).He has also written lyrics for 6,000 songs, becoming the king of lyrics in the entertainment industry.After World War II, in addition to the collection of poems "A Handful of Glass", he also published "A Study of Nicolas Rimbaud" and so on. Became a member of the Academy of Arts in 1961. ——(Excerpt from Classified Japanese "Literature" magazine) "Saijo Eighty, Johnny Howard..." Dongju looked away from the encyclopedia and looked at the roof.What is the relationship between this brilliant Japanese-born lyric poet and a black youth from the slums of New York? Dongju began to read page by page carefully the collection of poems he had just glanced at ten lines at a glance, but he was still not sure that the collection of poems was brought by Johnny.But Dongju seemed to have such a premonition. The collection of poems was published in Showa 22 (1947), and this publishing house has long since ceased to exist.Showa 22 is more than 20 years from now, which is the same level of obsolete as the straw straw hat found in the park where Johnny was stabbed. Johnny Howard - Straw Hat - Saijo Yashi, what is the bridge connecting these three?Maybe it's hiding in a collection of poems. Dongju intends to submit the collection of poems to the search meeting after discovering the bridge. Dongju looked carefully.This is the low-quality "war disaster paper" mass-produced after the war. In addition, over time, if you don't turn it carefully, the binding will fall apart. The number of remaining pages is getting smaller and smaller, and the disappointment in Dongju's eyes is getting heavier and heavier.After looking carefully for so long, I still haven't found any clues about the "bridge". ——Is the collection of poems really left behind by an irrelevant guest? Turning the pages of the book, Dongju felt more and more disappointed.There are very few pages left, and when the pages are turned, it is time to despair. When he turned to the last few pages, Dongju's eyes suddenly lit up, and his hand that turned the book was fixed in the air. As soon as those words came into view, Dongju felt as if a light flashed in front of his eyes. —Mom, do you remember my straw hat? It's the straw hat in summer, On the way from Ubing to Fog Accumulation, it drifted into the empty valley beside the road with the wind. "That's it!" Dongju couldn't help screaming.The straw hat appeared in "Saijo Eighty Poems", and Dongju couldn't help shaking with excitement. The poem continues: —Mom, I like that straw hat, A breeze blows it away, You know how sorry I was at that moment. ——Mom, at that time, a young herbal doctor came across, Wearing Xuanqing's leggings and back gloves. He took pains to help me find it, But the valley is deep and the grass is high, He couldn't get it either. —Mom, do you really remember that straw hat? The wild lilies blooming by the roadside, It must have withered long ago. When the autumn mists cover the hills, Maybe there are crickets singing every night under the straw hat? — Mother, I think tonight will be like this, That valley is also swaying with snow, my shiny italian straw hat and my name written on the back, Will be quietly and desolately buried under the snow... Dongju recited this rather long poem several times. After the initial excitement calmed down, the joy of finally discovering this "bridge" came to his heart again.The touch of reading poetry fueled this joy. Dongju, who was not interested in poetry at first, deeply experienced the emotions of the mother and son traveling in the valley in the summer on the straw hat in the poem. Dongju, who was abandoned by his mother when he was young, was deeply moved by the poems that miss the time spent traveling with his mother.When the author wrote this poem, he may have parted ways with his mother. Was that mother who bought that straw hat for her son? A picture emerged before Dongju's eyes: On a cool summer day, a mother and son were walking hand in hand on the road in a shaded valley.The mother is young and beautiful, and the child is still young. The valley at noon in midsummer is quiet and cool. Dongju almost wanted to visit that valley too. —Where is the Kirizuki Hot Spring?Judging from its mention of Usui, is it at the junction of Gunma and Nagano counties? Dongju was imagining the strange valley without bounds, when he suddenly thought of some kind of similarity, he froze for a while. "Killismi..." (Note) Before Johnny Howard left, he said that he was going to Japan for "kismi", and the pronunciation of "kismi" and "kirismi" are somewhat similar. The person who heard him say "kissimi" was an American. Could it be that he misheard "kissimi"? "Straw hat and fog accumulation", there are two things that are closely related to Johnny in "Saijo Eighty Poems"!Dongju stood up, thinking that he should bring his findings to the search meeting. Dongju's discovery excited the search headquarters.Everyone has no objection to the "straw hat", but they have different opinions on the misunderstood statement that "kismi" is a "kismi", and they think it is a bit reluctant. As the discoverer, Dongju insisted on his own claim: "I don't think this is far-fetched. Didn't a taxi driver misunderstand Johnny Howard's 'Storo-Hart' as 'Stoha'? Both of them missed the 'r' sound. I think this shows that Howard has a habit of weakening the 'r' sound." But no one had ever heard the living Johnny speak. In the city of New York, it is said that there are also unique dialects and accents similar to the Beijing accent of Tokyo people. Maybe there is such a saying that the "r" is omitted. But unfortunately, no one who is proficient in English can be found in the search department, let alone this unique American slang that is very different from standard English. "It's not enough for us laymen to make wild guesses. It's better to consult experts." The Nasu Police Department immediately put forward a safe mediation opinion. So we decided to seek advice from Professor Toshiyuki Miyatake, an authority on American English phonetics at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. "American English in general, due to its vast territory, the vocabulary and pronunciation used by different regions and classes vary greatly. It can be roughly divided into three types by region: Standard American English, Eastern American English and Southern American English. Although the New York area belongs to The standard American-speaking area, but also mixed with a lot of Eastern American. In addition, it is a mixed city known as a hodgepodge of ethnicities. Residents who immigrated from all over the world speak English with a local accent, so the pronunciation is varied. The omission of the 'r' sound you asked about, that is, the omission of the 'r' in kirizumi and the 'r' in straw hat, has not been seen in American phonetics." "No." As the discoverer of a new breakthrough, Dong Ju, who was ordered to ask for advice, showed a disappointed look on his face. "However, sometimes a sound will be affected by the following sound and will not be pronounced. This situation may be a word, or it may occur between two adjacent words in the same paragraph. For example: like asked and stoppd When there are plosives and fricatives, the 'k' and 'p' sounds are dropped. Then there are nasals and repetitions, but none of the cases you're asking about." "are not there?" Dongju felt more and more frustrated. He had spent so much effort to think that this breakthrough would run aground again. He felt that he could hardly bear the blow of disappointment. "Originally, the 'r' sound in American English is a relatively strong sound, which often affects other sounds. Sometimes there is no 'r' sound at all, but it is added between the next word beginning with a vowel An 'r' sound. For example, 'sawit' for 'saw it', 'he and me' for 'he and me' sounds like 'sawrit' and 'her and me'. Of course, this is an irregular pronunciation .” There is no “r” sound but the “r” sound can be heard, which is exactly the opposite of what Dongju inquired.Is it really far-fetched to associate "kissimi" with "kismi"? Dongju looked downcast. "That's not to say there's no possibility of dropping the 'r' at all." The professor continued as if trying to comfort him. "Ah, is there such a situation?" Dongju immediately beamed again, thinking to himself why he didn't say it sooner. "But it's not yet recognized academically." "No, it doesn't matter whether it's academic or not, as long as it can be confirmed that there is such a pronunciation method in reality." "Didn't you come here to listen to my opinion as a scholar?" Professor Gong Wu seemed a little dissatisfied with Dong Ju's statement that he despised academics. Dongju hurriedly smoothed things over and said, "Ah, yes, yes, you are right. I mean... that is, I am here to ask you, an expert: Although it is not recognized academically, is it actually true? This pronunciation." He was afraid of losing the professor's help because of his rash speech. "English is the mother tongue of American English. In addition to regional differences, there are also complex differences between classes. The English we learn in school is the standard English of the intellectual class. People who learn English in school simply listen to I don't understand London dialect and American slang. Especially in the market of New York, blacks from Ireland, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain, Puerto Rico, Jews and the American South live together in groups, like a hodgepodge of languages. Of course , English has changed under the influence of different languages, and sometimes it will produce a bold omission like the Tokyo dialect of Japanese. Especially for people of Spanish origin, they have the characteristic of pronouncing the 'r' sound into a vibrato, some of them in order to conceal themselves Hispanic identity, and consciously softening or omitting the 'r' sound, it's like a person who realizes his own faults and often overcorrects." "In this way, these people will call 'Storo-Hart' as 'Stoha', and 'Kismi' as 'Chismi'." Dongju couldn't help crying, because Johnny Howard lived in the Hispanic ghetto—East Harlem. "There is a possibility." The professor nodded.It seems that the American most likely heard "kissimi" as "kissimi".The search headquarters thus finally found the new clue of "Fog Accumulation". Johnny's destination in Japan is likely to be Kirizumi.In any case, this is a new breakthrough point that the search headquarters must not ignore. The key to unlocking the mystery of Johnny Howard's murder must lie in the mist. Dongju thanked the professor hastily and left. Almost at the same time when the headquarters was searched and the target was found, the New York City police received new information. Johnny's father, Wilson Howard, killed himself under a rich man's car, and the compensation he received was probably used for Johnny's travel expenses to Japan.That is to say, the father risked his own life in exchange for a sum of travel expenses for his son. "For the sake of this, why did you send Johnny to Japan?" Both father and son are dead, so it is impossible to ask them personally.Johnny seems to have an urgent purpose in coming to Japan, and if he goes to Kirizumi to find out, maybe he will find out.The long-suffering air in the search headquarters was alive again. Wuzui Onsen is located in Ubing Ridge at the junction of Gunma and Nagano counties. It is a valley hot spring with mountain scenery and belongs to Matsui Town, Gunma Prefecture administratively. The guide map printed by the transportation company simply states: Wuji River is located at an altitude of 1080 meters above sea level, 210 meters higher than Mount Karuizawa, and its upstream bypasses behind Ubing Ridge.The scenery here is beautiful. In autumn, the maple leaves on the nearby mountains are beautiful and suitable for camping. The beauty of red leaves on Biqu Mountain, which is an hour and a half away from the hot spring, is particularly moving. The hot spring here is a gypsum bitter spring, which has curative effects on trauma, arteriosclerosis, neuralgia, gynecological diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.To get there, you have to take a car from Yokogawa in Shin-Etsu Prefecture, and then walk 9 kilometers, which takes about 3 hours. "It will take more than three hours to walk." "It's been so many years, and there are still such deep mountain hot springs." The detectives looked at each other in surprise.There are two hotels in Wuji. After calling in advance, the time-honored "Jintang Restaurant" immediately welcomed them. The "Straw Hat Poem" written by Saijo Yasuo was written by the author to commemorate his visit to Kirizumi during his lifetime. It is said that the Kantokan also printed this poem on the wrapping paper of the lunch boxes prepared for the staying passengers and passing tourists. Johnny Howard is likely to have contact with the "Golden Soup Restaurant", and Dongju and Hengdu were ordered to go there on a business trip. On the other hand, the test results of the "spots on the cloth bear" discovered by Oyamada have also come out. "Banji" is human blood, which has been determined to be AB type in ABO blood type or M type in MN type, which is consistent with Wenzhi's blood type. Their speculations were unlucky.Oyamada mentioned the information he had collected to the police. Based on their detailed information, the police believed that it could not be handled simply by looking for people who ran away from home. Before discovering the cloth bear's archway, experts conducted a careful search.But because the time of the crime is too far away from now, the traces of the crime have disappeared, and there are no valuable clues at all.